


Moira in Moonlight

by AslansCompass



Series: ....and how to save them [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Full Moon, Gen, Not Slash, Transformation, Werewolf
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:20:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26691304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AslansCompass/pseuds/AslansCompass
Summary: Newt Scamander has a possible solution to Remus Lupin's 'furry little problem.' A big, four-footed, angry solution.
Series: ....and how to save them [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1315070
Comments: 3
Kudos: 62





	Moira in Moonlight

"Need anything else?" Tina leaned on the barn door. 

  
"No, we'll be fine. " Newt took the teapot from her hands and set it on a side table. "Just bar the door when you leave."

  
"You don't have to stay," Remus offered. "Just show me where--"

  
"We've been over this. I want to help. And to do that, I need to know what happens."

  
"It won't be pretty." 

  
Newt shrugged. "Wasn't expecting it to be. "

  
"I'll leave you to it, then." Tina said. She slid the door shut, followed by a heavy thud as she dropped the outside bar. 

  
Newt poured two cups and offered one to Remus, but the younger man refused. "No point. I can't keep anything down."

  
Newt took a long sip. "I set aside some replenishing potions for tomorrow. Even if there's nothing to be done about the actual transformation, we can try to make the aftermath a little better."

  
"Better?" 

  
"Less horrible, then." Newt finished his cup. "I'll show you where I had in mind."

He walked between the clabberts and the malaclaw tank, heading toward the larger exhibits. A large baoboab tree marked the edge of one habitat. "I'd leave anything fragile here." 

  
Remus set his wand on a convenient knob of bark. He took off the jeans and sweatshirt he'd been wearing all day and neatly folded them. Even when he managed to transform without snagging a claw or popping a seam, he still ran the risk of destroying anything at hand. 

  
Newt handed him an oversized cloak. The clasp had already broken; it would slip off in a sharp breeze, much less the contortions of transformation. "Nervous?" 

  
"Not really." For all his fear of the full moon, it held few surprises at this point. "It's going to be terrible, like always." 

  
"Maybe not. What you said about your friends got me thinking. Wolves are social animals, actually. Company can make a big difference. So, I'd like you to meet my friend Moira."'

  
Remus followed Newt's gaze. The exhibit was meant to mimic an African savanna, with long grasses waving in a faint breeze. A large grey animal contentedly rubbed its head against a towering termite mound.

  
"Her calf died a few days ago.... had quite the hassle getting it out of the pen." Newt shrugged and glanced at a tarp-covered shape off to the side. "Haven't quite figured out what to do with the body yet. But in the meantime, it might still be useful."

  
"How?"

  
"I need you to roll all over it."

  
"What?"

  
"Well, it would be better if you could do it as a wolf, but I couldn't count on you being able to understand as a wolf, so best to do it now."

  
"And the point is...."

  
"Erumpents have poor eyesight, but excellent smell. She might mistake you for her calf if you smell right."

  
"What? You're going to throw me into a pen with an erumpent?" 

  
"Not throw. You can just walk in. I can control the barriers from here. Don't worry about hurting her, she's a tough old girl."

  
"What about her hurting me?" Remus exclaimed.

  
"I'll be right here to keep an eye on things. They're only aggressive during mating season; as long as you don't provoke her, you'll be fine."

  
"How did you end up with one anyway?"

  
"Some billionaire imported large animals for a private hunt. The smugglers probably mistook them for rhinos. They got the male, though. Some friends at the Ministry heard about it and passed the female onto me. She was already pregnant--I was hoping for a live offspring, there's so few of them left, but, well...."

* * *

\--aggghhhh. 

Smells. big beast. grass-eater. 

_prey._ fight. destroy. 

tough hide.

claws out. teeth.

force. heavy force.

rammed.

thrown through air.

prey fought back.....

* * *

Remus collapsed onto the floor, breathing heavily. He glanced at the end of his leg-- _arm--_ counting digits. One, two, three....three... what came after three... they were all there. 

Something warm fell onto his back. He snared weakly.

"Easy, easy." An older man knelt next time.

Scent was still easier for Remus than sight. The man smelled strong, old but strong, like an ancient tree with deep roots. 

"Can you move? You'll be better off inside."

He forced himself to hands and knees. "Help?" 

The man bent over and helped Remus to his feet, draping one arm over his own shoulder. "Come on, it's not far." 

Maybe not, but every step felt the length of a quidditch pitch. Remus closed his eyes, preferring the comforting darkness to unsteady focus. 

* * *

Remus’s eyes peeled open. He felt like a lump of dough, blended, beaten, and stretched to the limits. 

  
Someone knocked on the door. "It's Sandra, can I come in?"

  
"Please don't," he mumbled. 

  
"I think I left my wand in there." The door remained closed. "It'll only be a minute."

  
His left arm was stretched in front of his head, while the right dangled off the couch. His face was buried in the couch cushions. The right leg was folded under his torso, while the left dangled off the other end. 

Remus vaguely remembered Newt draping the cloak over him, but it must have slipped off in the night. He reached for the heap of blankets on the floor and grabbed one, dropping it over his lower body. "Fine. Just don't judge me for how I look. "

  
"Oh, I've had bad days myself," Sandra opened the door. "But maybe not that bad," she added, as she glanced at Remus. "Good lord, man, you look twenty years older. What happened last night?"

  
“Wrestling match with an erumpent.” 

  
“Really.” Sandra’s glare was equal to any professor. She had the flat, not-buying-it, tone of McGonagall after a particularly impressive prank. 

  
Remus tried to stand up. Colored sparks danced before his eyes. “Whoa… whoaa….” He quickly sank back down, nearly tripping over the blanket.

  
“Hey, hey.” Sandra stepped forward. “Can I get you anything? Water? Potions?” She took his mumble as agreement, stepping out and coming back a few minutes later with a pint jar and a small flask. “Some balm for those wounds and some cordial.”

  
Remus took a tentative sip. Apple, spiced with cinnamon and caramel. Soothing, but tasty. “Good.”

  
“Better than Pomfrey’s, at least. I think she makes it taste nasty on purpose.”

  
He snorted. “Definitely.”

  
They sat in silence for a few minutes. “You know, if something’s wrong, you should tell Gramps about it. He can help.” 

  
Remus shook his head. “He was with me.”

  
“And you still look like this?” Sandra scoffed. “Some help.” 

  
“At least he tried.”

  
She raised an eyebrow. “That bad, huh?”

  
He took another sip of cordial before answering. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

  
“We all have secrets. Well, my dad would disagree, but he’s got a thing about secrets. Even little ones, like birthday gifts. So annoying; when we were younger, he’d buy his own Christmas gifts, wrap them, and put them under the tree.”

  
“What?” 

  
“Long story. Trust me, it’s a really long story. Ask him sometime. Point is, you don’t have tell me anything.” Sandra stood up. “Well, I’d better get some breakfast. Let me know if you need anything.”

  
“No thanks. Can't stomach anything right now."


End file.
